Drenched from the Manchester rain and champagne on coronation day, Sir Alex Ferguson boasted to Sky Sports' Geoff Shreeves United had achieved a coup in appointing David Moyes as his successor.

Such is Ferguson's sway the majority of United supporters backed the appointment. He had earlier rallied the Red and White army on the pitch, instructing them: "Your job now is to get behind our new manager." It generated one of the most raucous roars of a jubilant afternoon.

Moyes, though, was not a winner. He has still not won a major trophy in 18 years of management and the only two managers who should have been considered to replace Ferguson were Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.

United have again been caught cold on Guardiola but Mourinho is available. Risibly, some sanctimonious Mourinhophobes at United are championing Ryan Giggs' credentials.

Hands up who wants to replace Van Gaal

That faction does not include Ed Woodward. Giggs has his cheerleaders in the south stand directors' box and Ferguson, who suggested the Welshman should permanently succeed Moyes in 2014, has not altered that viewpoint.

Woodward's Friday morning telephone call to Jorge Mendes has galvanised the anti-Mourinho faction. Last time talks emerged, Labour MP David Lammy conveniently revealed Ferguson thought Mauricio Pochettino was 'the best manager in the Premier League' . Now it seems some at United have trumpeted Giggs' credentials. Regular as clockwork.

Ferguson and Giggs are the most decorated individuals in United's history

Giggs has less managerial experience than Under-21s coach Warren Joyce, the ideal interim candidate should Mourinho not be parachuted in. Giggs was a winner at playing level but is a novice at managerial level. He is less qualified to manage United than Moyes, a man 'cut from the same cloth' as Ferguson. Ie. he was born in Glasgow.

United need a manager who will immediately make them competitive again and there is no guarantee Giggs will do that. Moyes felt 'there was never any rush to do anything' at United, which was a breathtakingly complacent approach to the role, and United need a coach who will hit the ground running like an Olympic sprinter.

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Monty Python had the Knights who say Ni and United have Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton. They are refusing to allow Mourinho the passage to the manager's office and the timing of the club's announcement that the south stand would be renamed in Charlton's honour was attributed as one of appeasement by some fans.

Charlton's abhorrence of Mourinho is particularly curious for a man who apologised to the Glazer family and described Margaret Thatcher, infamous for her attitude towards football fans, as 'sensational'. Charlton was asked a few years ago about Mourinho taking over at M16.

"It isn't the way we would do it," he said. The way United have done it in recent years has seen them transform from winners to losers.

Charlton does not want Mourinho in charge

An advocate of Moyes, Charlton the player watched United botch the managerial handover from Sir Matt Busby to Wilf McGuinness in 1970 yet could not see the parallels developing with Moyes.

"We have secured a man who is committed to the long-term and will build teams for the future as well as now," Charlton said in the statement confirming Moyes' appointment. "Stability breeds success."

This obvious dig at Mourinho continues to haunt Charlton. A footballing institution and deserved recipient of the south stand renaming honour, his opinion on who manages United should be disregarded. His and Ferguson's idealism is so detached from reality their spectacles might be rose-tinted.

United's loser mentality has become so profound Moyes and Louis van Gaal now appear to be kindred spirits when they were once opposites. The Scot said on Saturday United should not dismiss Van Gaal and 'stand for much greater things than sacking their manager regularly', forgetting the five managers United dispatched in the 70s and 80s.

Charlton, Ferguson and Giggs have played unique roles in the rise of United over the last 60 years and supporters will forever be indebted to their efforts during the wonderful days they have enjoyed as a consequence of their genius. The knights' preference for Giggs over Mourinho betrays United's ethos, though.

Mourinho and Giggs enjoy a chat in August 2013

Whatever their misgivings about the Portuguese, Mourinho has been auditioning to manage United for over seven years, boasts a CV laden with so many honours it merits a brochure and has managed genuine juggernauts in his first Chelsea side and the Real Madrid that outscored Barcelona in two seasons.

Van Gaal, with his dark suit and clipboard, looks like a funeral planner and has sounded remarkably defeatist in recent months. Mourinho loves winning as much as a shark loves blood.